Life wasn’t always this hard for fourteen-year-old Mvelo, who lives with her mother, Zola in the shacks on the margins of Mkhumbane township. There were good times when they lived with Sipho, Zola’s lawyer boyfriend. But when the beautiful and mysterious Nonceba Hlathi arrives, Zola has to make a choice. She also has her pride. Now their social grants have been discontinued: the one for Mvelo being underage reared by a 31-year-old single mother, and the other for Zola because of her status. And there is also an elephant growing in their shack as the terrible thing that happened that night in the revival tent remains unspoken.

Futhi Ntshingila

Futhi Ntshingila grew up in Pietermaritzburg, and her parents still live there. Now she lives and works in Pretoria. She is is a former journalist and holds Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution. She loves telling stories about the marginal corners of society. Do Not Go Gentle is her second novel, her first was Shameless (UKZN Press, 2008).

In this novel, Ntshingila depicts the intricacies of life in a squatter camp. She shows how the need for love, security and a sense of belonging cause the lives of the most unlikely people to cross paths. Do Not Go Gentle is a compelling, intense read which portrays how diverse characters sway between solace and disenchantment as they engage with each other.The storyline leaps beyond the boundaries of race, class and borders.Reneilwe Malatji; author of Love Interrupted